Meta expanded its Louisiana data centre to 5 gigawatts, up from a 2GW plan, pushing total investment past $50 billion.
Local teachers got bonuses of up to $50,000 this year, 400% higher than last year.
Meta will not say when the full 5GW actually gets built.
Richland Parish, Louisiana has about 20,000 residents. It is about to host one of the largest data centres ever constructed.
The numbers
Meta announced on July 13 that it is expanding the Richland Parish campus to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity for Hyperion, its largest AI computing campus. That pushes total investment past $50 billion.
Look at how fast this grew. Meta unveiled the campus in late 2024 as a $10 billion development planned for more than 2GW of power.
By October 2025 a joint venture tied to the site valued the buildings and infrastructure at about $27 billion. Now it is $50 billion and 5GW across nearly 4,000 acres, or 6.25 square miles.
The local impact is genuinely remarkable and worth taking seriously. Teachers in Richland Parish received annual bonuses of up to $50,000 this year, 400% higher than last year, funded by tax revenue from the project. The school superintendent said it is life-altering for teachers and their families and is transforming the schools.
Louisiana businesses have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts since Meta broke ground. The company is putting over $1 billion into local roads, water and wastewater.
It donated $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College, and from the class of 2026, every Richland Parish high school graduate gets a full scholarship for any data-centre trade certificate. T
he project supports an estimated 7,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent roles. A smart energy agreement with Entergy Louisiana is projected to save grid customers more than $2 billion over 20 years.
What the press release leaves out
First, the timeline. Meta told CNBC the project is expected to reach 2GW by 2030, but the company has not given a full timeline for when the entire 5GW buildout will be complete. A 5GW headline with a 2GW date attached is not the same announcement.
Second, the pushback. Environmental and consumer groups have increasingly challenged the energy-intensive AI buildout, even as Meta says it will cover the full cost of the energy, water and related infrastructure. CNBC also noted the investment is aided by generous tax incentives, which is the part that never makes the celebratory version.
The pattern is now unmistakable. South Korea just committed $880 billion to chips and data centres. Meta is at $50 billion in one parish. AI stopped being a software story. It is a power and water story, and the bill lands locally.
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